Briefing

Maduro Says That, Rain or Shine, We'll Have Elections on December

The ANC wasn’t creating a new Constitution, and now it's on its way out; The number of doctors who have died because of the pandemic is devastating, and it extends to jails too; At least the Health Heroes bonus was paid

Naky Soto
An unjustified delay.

Photo: Airways Mag

  • The president of the ANC, Diosdado Cabello, said on Sunday that Venezuela won’t have a new Constitution, and that in the three months this chavista imposition has left, they will issue constitutional laws: “We have the matter of popular power, constitutional laws, these laws won’t go to a referendum, and to change them you have to call for a new ANC, because they’re above the organic laws.” The ANC sealed the de facto annulment of the National Assembly that chavismo now says it’ll rescue. That’s why Cabello dismissed the fact that, in three years, the ANC didn’t fulfill its mandate of “transforming the state, creating new judicial order and writing a new Constitution,” according to Article 347 of the current Constitution. According to him, the ANC “completely fulfilled its goal,” because it helped preserve power. At what cost? He assured that “the democratic opposition” will participate in the  “elections” in December, the one that separated from Juan Guaidó and his thesis of maintaining the caretaker government after January. He questioned the fraction that separated from PSUV and with cynicism wished them luck in the election. 
  • Delcy Rodríguez reported on Sunday 1,124 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 53,289 cases they’ve admitted to. She also reported 8 new deaths, for a total of 428. 
  • The number of dead doctors because of COVID-19 is devastating. Pulmonologist Germán Clavier died in Anzoátegui. Anesthesiologist Francisco España died in Bolívar state. Pediatrician Carlos Anés, pediatric cardiologist Arturo Rodríguez and OBGYN Rafael Rojas died in Nueva Esparta. Pediatrician Nelly Núñez and ICU specialist Luis Fernando Díaz died in Táchira state. Anesthesiologist Jesús “Chuchin” Vargas died in Zulia. The proportion of healthcare workers who have died so far is absurd (138 at the moment) when we compare it to the deaths they’ve admitted to. 
  • Nicolás said that a broad flexibilization will start on Monday, September 7th, except in border states. According to him, the number of daily cases has “stabilized” between 800 and 1,000. This is impossible to verify. 
  • The Félix Pifano laboratory in Yaracuy will start running PT-PCR tests for the western states, and the Dr. José Gregorio Hernández National Center for Genetic Medicine in Guarenas, will also process results, but with Cuban talent. Venezuela now has only four labs. Colombia has over 80. The Dominican Republic has eight, and half of those work 24 hours a day. 
  • Juan Guaidó reported that the first part of the Health Heroes bonus was paid on Saturday. They’ll pay 3,000 workers per day until they reach over 60,000. This payment will be done for three months. According to their data, 13,000 beneficiaries must still register and complete the process of opening a digital wallet on AirTM. 
  • The CNE received over 14,000 nominations for candidates to the National Assembly, said the president imposed by the TSJ, Indira Alfonzo, and added that the schedule maintains “the search for balance between proportionality and nominality because 53% of deputies will be elected with the proportional method and 48% with the nominal method. 
  • NGO Una Ventana a la Libertad said that there are at least 109 prisoners with COVID-19. Nueva Esparta remains the state with the most number of cases, 88 in total. This NGO gets their data from the information that regional authorities provide. 
  • Nicolás isn’t willing to change the date or the parliamentary “election”: “On December 6th, rain or shine, with or without a pandemic, we’ll have an election. Let it be clear. Nobody can come asking for something different. Nobody can come tell suspension tales. On January, 5th, 2021, there will be a new National Assembly.” He talked about the 14,400 nominations received by the CNE and inscription of candidates and those from “different oppositions”. He assured that AD and VP nominated candidates, but didn’t mention that TSJ imposed boards of authorities who obey chavismo on those parties. As if he were doing us a favor, he said he’ll abide by the rules of electoral propaganda, with which he was lying, because the programming in state channels, paid with public money, is constant propaganda for PSUV. 
  • Henrique Capriles published a communiqué on Sunday where he states that “there can’t be an electoral process while Venezuelans die and we can’t put them at risk”. Once again, he publishes a text written as the savior (because he’s obligated to “open ways that will save Venezuela”) that doesn’t explain the scope of his negotiation with chavismo (which would bring clarity to the term “political weight”) and he mentioned that it would be with street protests to demand conditions that they won’t concede, a proposal pretty similar to Juan Guaidó’s. Capriles believes in his victory so fiercely, that he talked about this possibility of a “defeat he can’t foresee”. Once more he didn’t mention how we got here, the abuses power can do once more and the reasons why this is an illegal process. It’s a text he dedicated to the action of voting no matter what, not about fighting. 
  • “Borrell is Borrell and I don’t care what he says,” said Diosdado Cabello about the European Minister for Foreign Affairs, although he’s pleased about the invitation to the EU and the UN to participate as electoral observers. 
  • Co-founder of Spanish political party Podemos, Juan Carlos Monedero, wrote an article yesterday about Juan Guaidó’s lack of strength: “If there’s an opposition candidate in Venezuela, Henrique Capriles, supported by a broad majority of opposition members and with electoral possibilities, why is the EU holding up the pathetic political body of Juan Guaidó? Haven’t we made fools out of ourselves lately?” A subtle, discreet move. 
  • The French Embassy complained on Saturday for the lack of permits by Venezuelan authorities to have a special flight between Paris and Caracas, a humanitarian flight that they say complies with all sanitary measures and was scheduled for Sunday.
Briefing

Naky Soto

Naky gets called Naibet at home and at the bank. She coordinates training programs for an NGO. She collects moments and turns them into words. She has more stories than freckles.

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